2008–09 Washington Capitals season

NHL hockey team season

2008–09 Washington Capitals
Southeast Division champions
Division1st Southeast
Conference2nd Eastern
2008–09 record50–24–8
Home record29–9–3
Road record21–15–5
Goals for272
Goals against245
Team information
General managerGeorge McPhee
CoachBruce Boudreau
CaptainChris Clark
Alternate captainsSergei Fedorov
Alexander Ovechkin
ArenaVerizon Center
Average attendance17,943 (98%)
Team leaders
GoalsAlexander Ovechkin (56)
AssistsNicklas Backstrom (66)
PointsAlexander Ovechkin (110)
Penalty minutesDonald Brashear (121)
Plus/minusAlexander Semin (+25)
WinsJose Theodore (32)
Goals against averageSemyon Varlamov (2.37)

The 2008–09 Washington Capitals season was the team's 35th in the National Hockey League. The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50–24–8 and a team-record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs 4–3, overcoming a 3–1 series deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games.

Pre-season

Schedule/Results from capitals.nhl.com

Opponent Result Score
@ Carolina Hurricanes W 4-1
vs Carolina Hurricanes W 5-2
@ Boston Bruins W 4-3
@ New Jersey Devils W 3-2
@ Philadelphia Flyers L 1-2
vs Philadelphia Flyers W 5-1
vs Boston Bruins OTL 4-5

Regular season

Division standings

Southeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – Washington Capitals 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
2 Carolina Hurricanes 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
3 Florida Panthers 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
4 Atlanta Thrashers 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
5 Tampa Bay Lightning 82 24 40 18 210 279 66

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Boston Bruins NE 82 53 19 10 274 196 116
2 y – Washington Capitals SE 82 50 24 8 272 245 108
3 y – New Jersey Devils AT 82 51 27 4 244 209 106
4 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 45 28 9 264 239 99
5 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 44 27 11 264 238 99
6 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 45 30 7 239 226 97
7 New York Rangers AT 82 43 30 9 210 218 95
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 41 30 11 249 247 93
8.5
9 Florida Panthers SE 82 41 30 11 234 231 93
10 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 41 32 9 250 234 91
11 Ottawa Senators NE 82 36 35 11 217 237 83
12 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 34 35 13 250 293 81
13 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 35 41 6 257 280 76
14 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 24 40 18 210 279 66
15 New York Islanders AT 82 26 47 9 201 279 61

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)

AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


Schedule and results

Full schedule, results, and recaps at capitals.nhl.com

  • Green background indicates win. (2 points)
  • Red indicates loss. (0 points)
  • White background indicates overtime/shootout loss (1 point).
2008–09 Game log
October: 5–3–1 (home: 3–0–1; road: 2–3–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
1 10 Washington 4 - 7 Atlanta Thrashers Johnson 18,545 0–1–0 0
2 11 Chicago Blackhawks 2 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 1-1-0 2
3 13 Vancouver Canucks 1 - 5 Washington Johnson 16,847 2-1-0 4
4 16 Washington 4 - 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Theodore 17,030 3-1-0 6
5 18 New Jersey Devils 4 - 3 Washington SO Theodore 17,904 3-1-1 7
6 21 Washington 1 - 2 Calgary Flames Theodore 19,289 3-2-1 7
7 23 Washington 1 - 2 Phoenix Coyotes Theodore 14,722 3-3-1 7
8 25 Washington 6 - 5 Dallas Stars OT Theodore 18,532 4-3-1 9
9 28 Nashville Predators 3 - 4 Washington SO Theodore 17,011 5-3-1 11
November: 8-5–2 (home: 6–0–0; road: 2-5–2)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
10 1 Washington 0 - 5 Buffalo Sabres Theodore 18,690 5-4-1 11
11 4 Washington 1 - 2 Ottawa Senators OT Johnson 18,485 5-4-2 12
12 6 Carolina Hurricanes 2 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,874 6-4-2 14
13 8 New York Rangers 1 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,948 7-4-2 16
14 10 Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 4 Washington Johnson 17,932 8-4-2 18
15 12 Washington 5 - 1 Carolina Hurricanes Johnson 14,261 9-4-2 20
16 14 New Jersey Devils 1 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 10-4-2 22
17 15 Washington 5 - 6 New Jersey Devils SO Theodore 17,051 10-4-3 23
18 19 Washington 6 - 4 Anaheim Ducks Theodore 16,076 11-4-3 25
19 20 Washington 2 - 5 Los Angeles Kings Johnson 17,428 11-5-3 25
20 22 Washington 2 - 7 San Jose Sharks Johnson 17,496 11-6-3 25
21 24 Washington 3 - 4 Minnesota Wild Theodore 18,568 11-7-3 25
22 26 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 12-7-3 27
23 28 Montreal Canadiens 0 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 13-7-3 29
24 29 Washington 0 - 3 Columbus Blue Jackets Johnson 17,448 13-8-3 29
December: 11–3–0 (home: 6–1–0; road: 5–2–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
25 2 Florida Panthers 5 - 3 Washington Theodore 16,792 13-9-3 29
26 4 New York Islanders 2 - 5 Washington Johnson 18,130 14-9-3 31
27 6 Washington 2 - 1 Toronto Maple Leafs Johnson 19,416 15-9-3 33
28 7 Washington 1 - 3 Carolina Hurricanes Theodore 15,308 15-10-3 33
29 10 Boston Bruins 1 - 3 Washington Johnson 17,697 16-10-3 35
30 12 Ottawa Senators 1 - 5 Washington Johnson 17,973 17-10-3 37
31 13 Washington 2 - 1 Montreal Canadiens Varlamov 21,273 18-10-3 39
32 16 Washington 5 - 4 New York Islanders OT Johnson 11,655 19-10-3 41
33 18 St. Louis Blues 2 - 4 Washington Varlamov 18,277 20-10-3 43
34 20 Washington 1 - 7 Philadelphia Flyers Theodore 19,897 20-11-3 43
35 23 Washington 5 - 4 New York Rangers OT Theodore 18,200 21-11-3 45
36 26 Buffalo Sabres 2 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 22-11-3 47
37 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 23-11-3 49
38 30 Washington 4 - 2 Buffalo Sabres Theodore 18,690 24-11-3 51
January: 7–4–1 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–2–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
39 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 4 - 7 Washington Johnson 18,277 25-11-3 53
40 3 New York Rangers 1 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 26-11-3 55
41 6 Philadelphia Flyers 1 - 2 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 27-11-3 57
42 9 Columbus Blue Jackets 3 - 0 Washington Theodore 18,277 27-12-3 57
43 10 Washington 4 - 5 Montreal Canadiens Johnson 21,273 27-13-3 57
44 13 Edmonton Oilers 5 - 2 Washington Theodore 17,948 27-14-3 57
45 14 Washington 6 - 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Theodore 16,975 28-14-3 59
46 17 Boston Bruins 1 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 29-14-3 61
47 19 Washington 2 - 1 New York Islanders OT Theodore 15,221 30-14-3 63
48 20 Washington 2 - 3 Ottawa Senators Theodore 20,125 30-15-3 63
49 27 Washington 2 - 3 Boston Bruins OT Theodore 17,565 30-15-4 64
50 31 Detroit Red Wings 2 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 31-15-4 66
February: 9–3–1 (home: 5–3–0; road: 4–0–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
51 1 Ottawa Senators 4 - 7 Washington Johnson 18,277 32-15-4 68
52 3 Washington 5 - 2 New Jersey Devils Theodore 14,018 33-15-4 70
53 5 Los Angeles Kings 5 - 4 Washington Theodore 18,277 33-16-4 70
54 7 Florida Panthers 1 - 3 Washington Theodore 18,277 34-16-4 72
55 11 Washington 4-5 New York Rangers SO Theodore 18,200 34-16-5 73
56 14 Washington 5-1 Tampa Bay Lightning Neuvirth 17,249 35-16-5 75
57 15 Washington 4 - 2 Florida Panthers Theodore 17,279 36-16-5 77
58 18 Montreal Canadiens 4 - 5 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 37-16-5 79
59 20 Colorado Avalanche 4 - 1 Washington Theodore 18,277 37-17-5 79
60 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 38-17-5 81
61 24 Philadelphia Flyers 4 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 38-18-5 81
62 26 Atlanta Thrashers 3 - 4 Washington Neuvirth 18,277 39-18-5 83
63 28 Washington 4 - 3 Boston Bruins OT Theodore 17,565 40-18-5 85
March: 6–5–2; home: 2–3–1; road: 4–2–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
64 1 Florida Panthers 6 - 2 Washington Theodore 18,277 40-19-5 85
65 3 Carolina Hurricanes 5 - 2 Washington Neuvirth 17,903 40-20-5 85
66 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 - 1 Washington Theodore 18,277 40-21-5 85
67 8 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 - 3 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 40-21-6 86
68 10 Washington 2 - 1 Nashville Predators OT Theodore 20,066 41-21-6 88
69 12 Washington 2 - 1 Philadelphia Flyers Theodore 14,578 42-21-6 90
70 14 Carolina Hurricanes 4 - 5 Washington SO Theodore 18,277 43-21-6 92
71 16 Washington 1 - 5 Atlanta Thrashers Theodore 13,336 43-22-6 92
72 17 Washington 3 - 0 Florida Panthers Theodore 16,940 44-22-6 94
73 19 Washington 5 - 2 Tampa Bay Lightning Varlamov 17,565 45-22-6 96
74 21 Washington 1 - 4 Carolina Hurricanes Theodore 18,680 45-23-6 96
75 24 Washington 2 - 3 Toronto Maple Leafs SO Theodore 19,362 45-23-7 97
76 27 Tampa Bay Lightning 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 46-23-7 99
April: 4–1–1 (home: 2–0–1; road: 2–1–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts
77 1 New York Islanders 3 - 5 Washington Theodore 18,277 47-23-7 101
78 3 Buffalo Sabres 5 - 4 Washington OT Varlamov 18,277 47-23-8 102
79 5 Atlanta Thrashers 4 - 6 Washington Theodore 18,277 48-23-8 104
80 7 Washington 4 - 2 Atlanta Thrashers Varlamov 16,027 49-23-8 106
81 9 Washington 4 - 2 Tampa Bay Lightning Theodore 18,891 50-23-8 108
82 11 Washington 4 - 7 Florida Panthers Theodore 18,527 50-24-8 108
Schedule

Playoffs

The Washington Capitals won the Southeast Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season. The Capitals would eventually win the first round against the New York Rangers, in seven games, after trailing the series 3–1 for their first playoff series victory since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998. However, the Capitals would not get past the Pittsburgh Penguins and lost the series in seven games.

Key:   Win   Loss   Clinch Playoff Series   Eliminated from playoffs

2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (7) New York Rangers
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 15 NY Rangers 4 - 3 Capitals Theodore 18,277 Rangers lead 1 - 0 [1]
2 April 18 NY Rangers 1 - 0 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Rangers lead 2 - 0 [2]
3 April 20 Capitals 4 - 0 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Rangers lead 2 - 1 [3]
4 April 22 Capitals 1 - 2 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Rangers lead 3 - 1 [4]
5 April 24 NY Rangers 0 - 4 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Rangers lead 3 - 2 [5]
6 April 26 Capitals 5 - 3 NY Rangers Varlamov 18,200 Series tied 3 - 3 [6]
7 April 28 NY Rangers 1 - 2 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals win series 4 - 3 [7]
Eastern Conference Semifinals: vs. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 May 2 Penguins 2-3 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals lead series 1-0 [8]
2 May 4 Penguins 3-4 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Capitals lead series 2-0 [9]
3 May 6 Capitals 2-3 Penguins OT Varlamov 17,132 Capitals lead series 2-1 [10]
4 May 8 Capitals 3-5 Penguins Varlamov 17,132 Series tied 2-2 [11]
5 May 9 Penguins 4-3 Capitals OT Varlamov 18,277 Penguins lead series 3-2 [12]
6 May 11 Capitals 5-4 Penguins OT Varlamov 17,132 Series tied 3-3 [13]
7 May 13 Penguins 6-2 Capitals Varlamov 18,277 Penguins win series 4-3 [1]

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 
Regular season
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Alexander Ovechkin 79 56 54 110 +8 72
Nicklas Backstrom 82 22 66 88 +16 46
Alexander Semin 62 34 45 79 +25 77
Mike Green 68 31 42 73 +24 68
Brooks Laich 82 23 30 53 -1 31
Viktor Kozlov 67 13 28 41 -9 16
Tomas Fleischmann 73 19 18 37 -3 20
Sergei Fedorov 52 11 22 33 +4 50
Michael Nylander 72 9 24 33 0 32
Eric Fehr 61 12 13 25 +8 22
Dave Steckel 76 8 11 19 +2 34
Boyd Gordon 63 5 9 14 -4 16
Milan Jurcina 79 3 11 14 +1 68
Tom Poti 52 3 10 13 +3 28
Shaone Morrisonn 72 3 10 13 +4 77
Jeff Schultz 64 1 11 12 +13 21
Matt Bradley 81 5 6 11 -1 59
Chris Clark 32 1 5 6 -3 32
Keith Aucoin 12 2 4 6 +5 4
Tyler Sloan 26 1 4 5 +4 14
Karl Alzner 30 1 4 5 -1 2
Donald Brashear 63 1 3 4 -6 121
John Erskine 52 0 4 4 +1 63
Sami Lepisto 7 0 4 4 -3 6
Bryan Helmer 12 0 3 3 -1 2
Brian Pothier 9 1 2 3 0 4
Alexandre Giroux 12 1 1 2 +4 10
Chris Bourque 8 1 0 1 0 0
Quintin Laing 1 0 0 0 +1 0
Graham Mink 2 0 0 0 0 0
Staffan Kronwall 3 0 0 0 -1 0
Andrew Gordon 1 0 0 0 0 0
Jay Beagle 3 0 0 0 -3 2
Oskar Osala 2 0 0 0 -1 0


Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Alexander Ovechkin 14 11 10 21 +10 8
Nicklas Backstrom 14 3 12 15 +3 8
Alexander Semin 14 5 9 14 -1 16
Mike Green 14 1 8 9 -5 12
Sergei Fedorov 14 1 7 8 +1 12
Tom Poti 14 2 5 7 +8 4
Brooks Laich 14 3 4 7 0 10
Matt Bradley 14 2 4 6 +3 0
Viktor Kozlov 14 4 2 6 +5 6
Dave Steckel 14 3 2 5 0 4
Tomas Fleischmann 14 3 1 4 0 4
Boyd Gordon 14 0 3 3 -1 4
Brian Pothier 13 0 2 2 +1 8
Milan Jurcina 14 2 0 2 +6 12
Chris Clark 8 1 0 1 -2 8
John Erskine 12 0 1 1 +1 16
Shaone Morrisonn 14 0 1 1 +1 8
Tyler Sloan 2 0 1 1 +1 0
Donald Brashear 4 0 0 0 0 18
Michael Nylander 3 0 0 0 -1 2
Eric Fehr 9 0 0 0 -3 0
Jeff Schultz 1 0 0 0 -1 0
Jay Beagle 4 0 0 0 -1 0

Goaltenders

Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;
Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Jose Theodore 57 3286 32 17 5 157 2.87 1572 1415 .900 2
Brent Johnson 21 1131 12 6 2 53 2.81 579 526 .908 0
Semyon Varlamov 6 328 4 0 1 13 2.37 159 146 .918 0
Michal Neuvirth 5 219 2 1 0 11 3.00 102 91 .892 0
Playoffs
Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Semyon Varlamov 13 758 7 6 32 2.53 389 357 .918 2
Jose Theodore 2 96 0 1 6 3.72 33 27 .818 0

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Capitals. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
‡Traded mid-season
Bold/italics denotes franchise record

Awards and records

Trophies and awards

Stars

  • Alexander Semin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (October 2008)
  • Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Month (November 2008)
  • Nicklas Backstrom – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending November 28, 2008)
  • Alex Ovechkin – NHL No. 1 Star of the Week (Week Ending December 28, 2008)
  • Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 1, 2009)
  • Mike Green – NHL No. 3 Star of the Week (Week Ending February 8, 2009)

Records

  • Mike Green – NHL-record 8-game goal-scoring streak by a defenseman

Milestones

Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Brent Johnson 100th NHL win October 13, 2008
Sergei Fedorov 1200th NHL game October 16, 2008
Milan Jurcina 200th NHL game October 16, 2008
Tyler Sloan 1st NHL game October 21, 2008
Sergei Fedorov 474th NHL goal (most by a Russian-born player) October 25, 2008
Alexander Semin 200th NHL game October 25, 2008
Tyler Sloan 1st NHL goal October 25, 2008
Viktor Kozlov 500th NHL point November 14, 2008
Nicklas Backstrom 100th NHL game November 19, 2008
Karl Alzner 1st NHL game November 26, 2008
Alexander Ovechkin 200th NHL goal February 5, 2009
Mike Green 8-game goal-scoring streak by defenseman (NHL record) February 14, 2009

Transactions

Trades

June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals
1st-round pick (21st overall) in 2008 – Anton Gustafsson 		To New Jersey Devils
1st-round pick (23rd overall) in 2008 – Tyler Cuma
2nd-round pick in 2008 – Patrice Cormier
June 20, 2008 To Washington Capitals
1st-round pick in 2008 – John Carlson 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Steve Eminger
3rd-round pick in 2008 – Jacob DeSerres

Free agents

Player Former team Contract terms
Jose Theodore, G Colorado Avalanche $9 million, 2 years[2]
Player New team
Cristobal Huet,[3] G Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Cooke,[4] LW Pittsburgh Penguins
Olaf Kolzig, G Tampa Bay Lightning

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
Staffan Kronwall, D Toronto Maple Leafs February 6, 2009

Draft picks

Washington 's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft[5] in Ottawa, Ontario.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 21 (from New Jersey) Anton Gustafsson (C)  Sweden Frölunda HC (Sweden Jr.)
1 27 (from Philadelphia) John Carlson (D)  United States Indiana Ice (USHL)
2 57 (from San Jose) Eric Mestery (D)  Canada Tri-City Americans (WHL)
2 58 (from Philadelphia) Dmitri Kugryshev (RW)  Russia CSKA Moscow (RSL)
4 93 (from Los Angeles) Braden Holtby (G)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
5 144 Joel Broda (C)  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
6 174 Greg Burke (LW)  United States New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs (EJHL)
7 204 Stefan Della Rovere (LW)  Canada Barrie Colts (OHL)

See also

Farm teams

Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

References

  1. ^ "NHL.com - Recap: Penguins @ Capitals - 13 May 2009". Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Capitals sign Theodore, Raycroft joins Avs
  3. ^ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - Chicago - Blackhawks and Cristobal Huet agree to four-year deal[usurped]
  4. ^ Penguins sign Cooke to two-year deal
  5. ^ "NHL.com - Stats". June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 21, 2008. [dead link]
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